The Palm Woods Is Alive
by magdelapetrem
Summary: It was the place that made her feel alive.


I now present you a challenge, my fellow writers. Write a better crossover with Victorious and Big Time Rush than this. I'm not satisfied with this, but I know I should post this because if I don't I'm going to explode from this idea being in my head so long.

Also, this can be read as Andre/Tori, which I totally ship, but also not. Your choice, reader. Your choice.

Disclaimers. Yes.

* * *

The Palm Woods was big.

And loud, Tori concluded after watching a young lady stomp by in a wedding dress, mascara staining her cheeks, screaming about being left at the altar. Tori was almost whipped in the face by the girl's hair as she stormed by, waving a script in her hand. "He was my man, and you took him!" she was screeching, chasing after another girl, this one not acting in the skit and looking terrified on the bridezilla on her tail.

"Yikes," Tori mumbled, looking around. She carried her luggage behind her when the hotel manager gave her a key and told her that her room was on the blah blah blah she knew where to go. Andre followed her and smiled.

"This place is going to be crazy while we stay here, isn't it?" he joked, nudging her.

She nodded. "Thankfully, we'll only be here for a couple days. I don't think I could stand it here much longer."

They passed a pair of French doors leading out to a pool, and Tori quickly added, "without going in the pool a few times. Join me?"

"Always."

They rushed by the doors and to the elevator, pushing the button and laughing.

While the elevator slid up the shaft, Tori shifted in her spot, pushing her luggage in an easier spot to carry. "Can you believe I'm recording a song with Rocque Records?" she asked. Her voice held all of the disbelief Andre thought possible. He smirked.

"I said that you were talented, didn't I?"

Tori mirrored his smirk and rolled her eyes. "I guess. But still! I'm here recording for some big guy in the music industry, one that _usually_ doesn't take on girls but liked your song-"

"-our song-"

"-but is letting me make a single anyway? Awesome luck."

"No chiz."

"No German sausage," Tori snickered.

Andre snorted and shook his head. The doors slid open, and they stepped out.

Just in time to get slammed into by a group of boys. Tori stumbled to the side, straight into Andre, who tripped over his duffel bag and landed on the ground. Tori managed to regain her balance and caught one of the boys that landed in her arms. He jumped off of her immediately, recovering as quickly as the other three, and they all stared at the two they had nearly trampled. Tori helped Andre up while the tallest one said, "I'm so sorry!"

Andre pushed his hair out of his face and smiled. "No problem, bro." Tori finally took the time to look over the four. The tallest was eyeing them, making sure neither of them was limping or hurt in any way. The second tallest, and admittedly the hottest, was smoothing out his shirt and jeans and glancing at the dark-haired one in a t-shirt that had some crazy math equation on it that Tori had no hope of understanding but ended in a picture of pie with the symbol pi on it, and she had to smile at that. The last was a darker-skinned boy, maybe Latino? She watched his face dimple and make itself into cherubic features as he grinned at her.

"New girl," one whispered to another.

"I know," the other whispered excitedly.

A silence settled, and Tori lifted her hand awkwardly. "Hi, I'm Tori."

It was like an urge to introduce themselves, and the tallest started. "Hi, I'm Kendall."

"I'm James," the hottest said.

"I'm Logan," the one with the funny t-shirt added next.

"And I'm Carlos," the round-faced one said last.

"I'm Andre," Andre threw in. He inched closer to Tori to grab his bags. Tori stepped away to give him distance and turned back to the boys.

"Do you guys know where the room 3C is?"

The boys thought for a second and nodded. "It's down the hall, to your left," Kendall volunteered.

"Thanks," Andre acknowledged. Tori brushed past them with her bags, Andre on her tail, and they both shouted, "Bye!"

"Bye!" they guys shouted back.

They walked for a few minutes before Tori heard, _"We need to be at Gustavo's!"_ The boys stormed off.

* * *

Gustavo was a fiery man, Tori concluded.

He was louder than the Palm Woods and maybe all of LA combined, and his whole, "You are a dog and will do what I say" mantra was kind of obnoxious.

If she wasn't here to sing, she would have punched him so hard in the jowls that-

"Girl, you're a little off. Give it a little more soul, muchacha," Andre told her through the microphone. Tori heeded his gentle advice and belted the next note into the microphone. "A little soul, a _little_ soul! Not a whole heaven!"

She laughed and the music cut off. A grimace painted her face. "Sorry I laughed. Can we retry that?"

A graceful African woman pressed the button and smiled at her encouragingly. She was Gustavo's assistant, if Tori remembered right. "Actually, how about we take five? We have some water in there for you if you want to clear your throat and get a drink?"

"Thank you!" she chirped. "Can Andre come in?"

Gustavo's assistant turned and muttered something to Gustavo, who laced his fingers together and nodded. Andre entered a second later.

"Hey, girl. You're doing great," he told her immediately.

"Am I?" she asked nervously. "I'm just not sure if I'm hitting this note right. And I'm really nervous, because this guy just keeps staring at me and it's really unnerving and he's huge and scary and-"

Andre planted a hand over her lips and shook his head. "Tori, you're awesome. Just do what you do best and sing your heart out. Who cares what he thinks?"

"The public?" Tori offered weakly. Andre chuckled.

"Sure, but the public isn't as important as you."

Tori smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, babe."

"Tori, you ready?" Gustavo's assistant buzzed through the intercom.

"Yeah, I am." With a sparkling look from Andre, she was left alone in the booth with nothing but her music, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

When she came out of the booth, a single recorded and being reviewed, the four boys that had run into her earlier were standing in the studio, listening in.

"You're really good!" Carlos cheered.

"We just thought you were a model or something," Logan admitted.

James smiled sheepishly. "Or an actress. We were kind of afraid of that."

Tori thought back to the "bride" and nodded, wincing. "I can see how you would be."

Andre put an arm around her shoulder. "Told you you'd be good," he cooed.

She flicked his fingers and he retracted it, cradling his hand. "You thumped my hand!"

"No, I didn't," she retorted.

Andre looked to the group of boys. "Did you guys see-"

Before Andre could finish, Gustavo was standing and staring at the CD with Tori's single on it. "TORI."

Tori jumped and spun on her heel to look at the owner of the booming voice. "Yes?"

"How would you like to do a duet with the dogs?" His eyes were still angry, his stance still tense, but his voice was clear that he wanted her to do this.

"The Dogs?" She turned to the boys. "Is that your band name?"

"Well, it's Big Time Rush," Logan answered.

"But Gustavo calls us his dogs." James shrugged.

"That's not weird," Andre whispered. Tori bit back a smile.

"Tori, will you do it?" Gustavo's assistant pressed. She clutched her clipboard to her chest in anticipation.

Realizing just what she was being offered, she threw herself at it. "Yes!"

The boys ran into the booth, dragging Tori with them, and they handed her a sheet of lyrics. "You ready?" Kendall asked, smiling a crookedly toothy grin.

She looked over the lyrics, what she was supposed to sing, how high and low, and nodded. "Let's do this."

* * *

The song was a love song, with mostly the boys and accents from her. She would throw in a solo once, and then the song would end with a drifting note from James. It was beautiful and well put together, but it felt weird to sing something that wasn't composed by Andre. Andre was her pianist and song writer, and it almost felt like cheating to be singing this song.

She knew she had to do it though. It was important to her career. If she sang with an already accomplished band, Big Time Rush, and then her own single came out, she was sure to get some fame. Her singing would be her career, and she would make money doing something she loved to do.

She couldn't wait to sing with the boys again.

* * *

The Palm Woods was big, loud, and had its moments where she just wanted to run from the doors screaming.

The Palm Woods was the place that Tori Vega felt most alive, singing in a booth with four boys that had just gone on tour, recording her own single, and knowing she was only going up from there, Andre by her side.

* * *

So this was it. Yep. Short, talky, and my first crossover.


End file.
